MONTU

http://kindandcrazy.com/2011/02/24/montu/ - KindandCrazy.com

The fifth element


How does Norman-based jamtronica quartet Montu brighten up its already shiny live shows? With lights and lasers. Pew-pew-pew!
Joshua Boydston
January 18th, 2011

It’s all about creating something to remember — in every sense of the word — for the four-piece that started as a modest jam session between Godsy and keyboardist John Barkley on a single amplifier. A drummer in Colby Cowart followed before Russell came aboard, and it’s been a big party ever since.

Montu with DJ Kilter
9 p.m. Saturday
Kamp’s Deli & Market
1310 N.W. 25th
819-6004
$5

When Norman’s Montu started to mull over who to bring in to jam with the band next, they opted for a visual approach, rather than aural, and radiation proved to be just as capable as resonance.

“One of the first purchases we made as a band were these five LED light tubes,” said bassist Jon Godsy. “It’s turned out to be a really great purchase.”

Said guitarist Zane Russell, “It’s like a fifth man, another element to jam with the band. With a live show, it’s as much an experience as it is anything else. If the lights are working with the music, it just intensifies the whole encounter.”

Just has the band’s visibility has grown in the Oklahoma music landscape, so has its light show, which has seriously ramped up since a good friend decided to run lights for the act, bringing in more sophisticated equipment, scanners and lasers.

It’s all about creating something to remember — in every sense of the word — for the four-piece that started as a modest jam session between Godsy and keyboardist John Barkley on a single amplifier. A drummer in Colby Cowart followed before Russell came aboard, and it’s been a big party ever since.

“It’s jamtronica, for people who know what that is,” Russell said. “Hippie dance music, for people who don’t.”

Montu has garnered a strong following in both the jam scene and electronic circles, and that, in turn, has done wonders for the genre-benders.

Being relatively unrivaled locally in the subgenre has afforded the group quite a few major opportunities, despite only being active sense 2008. In their short time together, the guys opened for many of their heroes, including everyone’s favorite mash-up DJ.

“Girl Talk was just insane,” Barkley said, “but I think Disco Biscuits was a little more fun for us. It was a good mix of their fans and our fans, instead of just a sold-out show with drunk 16-year-old girls."

Said Godsy, “Playing with those big bands makes things feel a little more attainable. I can see it better; it feels closer.”

As much as they enjoy the big shows, their own headlining gigs are more fun. Those shows have always been smaller — functioning as an obligation for their pals, mostly — but more and more, the band finds itself playing for both new and familiar faces.

“We had a crowd that was mostly our friends,” Cowart said, “but now it’s people coming out for the music, and that’s a great thing to see.”

Montu now finds itself on the verge of a trek to California, in addition to playing many more shows locally (like Saturday’s appearance at Kamp’s Deli & Market) and pursuing the possibilities of releasing more recorded material — namely live albums — although albums only paint half the picture that the band hopes you will come see in person.

“This kind of music is so aimed at a live performance, it’s certainly not something you listen to if you’ve just broken up with your girlfriend,” Russell said. “It’s getting your buddies together and going to have a good time. If you want to see it, you’ve got to see it. It’s something you aren’t going to get from a CD. Every show is improv, every show is unique, and you’ll never see the same show ever again.” - Oklahoma Gazette

Call it 'Jamtronica'
What's in a name? More than you think

BY GARRETT WEINDORF
Don't bother asking the guys in Montu where they got their name or what it means. None of them seem to have any idea.

A Google search leads the curious to the Tulsa band, but also to listings for Montu, the ancient Egyptian god whose name means "nomad" -- and Montu, the Busch Gardens roller coaster, which is named for the idol and at one time featured a live crocodile beneath one section of track.

For anyone looking to learn more about Tulsa's Montu, Google's results aren't entirely off base. Like any good roller coaster, the band's instrumental melodies take listeners on an energetic ride through highs, lows and unexpected twists and turns. Like a nomad, the band's music never stays in one place for very long. The tunes wander through genres and emotions, all while keeping audiences engaged -- and excited.

Montu started in Norman three years ago as a friendship between two University of Oklahoma students: keyboard player John Barkley and bassist John Godsey.

"We'd just jam and drink beers in Godsey's garage," Barkley said. "It was really low key."

The pair met drummer Colby Cowart at a party, and Godsey's friend Jeff Cook eventually joined on guitar.

After playing a couple house parties, the band became a regular fixture at The Deli -- a Norman bar that features live music seven nights a week.

"We love that place," Barkley said. "All the other bars in Norman feel the same. The Deli's like being in a whole other state."

A battle-of-the-bands victory at The Deli won Montu a coveted slot at this year's Wakarusa festival in Arkansas. The event draws top talent from across the country, and has featured Oklahoma's Flaming Lips in the past.

Montu still plays The Deli with some regularity, but the band now performs all over the region, and recently embarked on a mini-tour of California.

Because so much of what they do involves improvisation in a live setting, Montu is often referred to as a "jam band." It's a label that really sells them quite short. The group's songs -- many of which are based around a keyboard melody created by Barkley -- have a definite structure, but one that's flexible enough to accommodate spontaneous creativity.



OU Export. Montu started in Norman three years ago as a friendship between two University of Oklahoma students: keyboard player John Barkley and bassist John Godsey. A battle-of-the-bands victory at a Norman bar won the band a coveted slot at this year’s Wakarusa festival in Arkansas.
Barkley doesn't mind being lumped in with jam bands, but he does realize the genre has a bad connotation in some people's minds.

"The term is off-putting even for me," he said. "It makes me think of a generic hippy thing that's not really even about music."

It sounds a little silly, but "jamtronica" might be a better label for Montu. The group's dancey songs have an electronic edge that comes mainly from Barkley's use of synthesizers and vintage keyboard sounds. Songs like "Crentist," for example, sound like what might happen if Stevie Wonder sat in with the French electronic duo Air.

While Montu's music is best experienced live, the band has released two EPs -- one of which they recorded at Tulsa's legendary Church Studio.

As the band's continued to play, the crowds have gotten bigger and so have the shows. Last year, Montu opened for mash-up master Girl Talk at Cain's Ballroom. The excited band played for a packed house, but the experience wasn't exactly what they'd hoped for.

"I think the house lights were on the whole time we played," Barkley said. "You could tell most people were there to see Girl Talk, but it was still awesome."

Montu -- with new guitarist Zane Russell -- will get another shot on the historic Cain's stage Thursday, April 21.. The band's opening for Umphrey's Mcgee, a group they cite as one of their major influences.

Montu shares a similar style and story with Umphrey's -- both are electronic jam bands that got their start on college campuses.

If the members of Montu play their cards right, there's no reason why they can't be just as successful as the headliners.

Cain's Ballroom opens Thursday at 7pm; the all-ages show starts at 8pm. Tickets are $19 at the door.

For more on Montu, visit myspace.com/montumusic - Urban Tulsa Weekly

MONTU – with their jazzy jamtronic sound and the flare of STS9, Montu has been laying the groundwork. Playing with bands such as Disco Biscuits among many others, 2009 promises to be a big year for MONTU. Make sure to catch their Debut set at BOOgie NIGHTS, you won’t leave disappointed. - http://www.beatnikgeneration.com/

"Montu actually played two sets, broken up by an intermission patrolled by Rad Shade’s beat dropping. Brother’s is not a huge venue, but every spare inch of space was filled with sweaty, grooving collegiate body parts. Montu’s dexterous, intricate instrumental fusion seemed even more on-point than the last time I saw them."

"...this is a group well deserving of bigger and better things in the near future. They already appear to have quite a local following, and for very legit reasons." - http://silenceinarchitecture.wordpress.com/category/photography/